Family, Relationships, and Social Life
July 29, 2021
What Matters for Living a Fulfilling Life
The June American Perspectives Survey offers some clues as to what Americans believe is truly necessary for living a full and rewarding life. Continue Reading →
July 20, 2021
Can Married Men and Women be Friends? Marriage, Friendship, and Loneliness
The time we invest on our relationships, whether it is with a partner, spouse, or a friend, is likely the most important thing we can do to ensure a long, healthy, and fulfilling life. Continue Reading →
July 6, 2021
American Men Suffer a Friendship Recession
Declining religious involvement, lower marriage rates, and changes in the workplace may be creating a surge of disconnection.
After a prolonged period of social isolation, Americans are dusting off their social calendars. But as Americans try to rebuild and reconnect, a new survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life finds that the social landscape is far less favorable than it once was. Continue Reading →
June 29, 2021
Men’s Social Circles are Shrinking
As the pandemic recedes, the American economy will recover. Most businesses will adapt, evolve, and ultimately thrive. The future of American social life looks much bleaker. Continue Reading →
June 29, 2021
Peer Pressure, Not Politics, May Matter Most When it Comes to Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine
Americans experience widely different levels of social pressure to get the COVID-19 vaccine. And for better or worse, our friends exercise considerable influence over the information we have and the decisions we make. Continue Reading →
June 23, 2021
Is Social Isolation Hampering the Vaccine Rollout?
Americans who are socially disconnected report far lower vaccination rates and may ultimately prove to be an important impediment. Continue Reading →
June 8, 2021
What Does it Mean to be a Best Friend?
American friendships have come under considerable stress over the past year, but even in the wake of a global pandemic, most Americans still have at least one close friend. In fact, 87 percent of Americans have one or more close friends. These close friendships are critical to our wellbeing. Americans who have a close friendship Continue Reading →
June 8, 2021
The State of American Friendship: Change, Challenges, and Loss
Findings from the May 2021 American Perspectives Survey
The May 2021 American Perspectives Survey finds that Americans report having fewer close friendships than they once did, talking to their friends less often, and relying less on their friends for personal support. Continue Reading →
May 13, 2021
Why Public Support for Transgender Rights is Likely to Grow
Public understanding of transgender policies will increasingly be informed not by news reports or political rhetoric, but through personal interactions with the people immediately affected by them. Continue Reading →
February 8, 2021
If You Have a Lot of Friends, You’re Probably More Active in Politics
Having a robust network of friends and family may encourage us to become more active in civic and political life. Continue Reading →
Generation Uncoupled
Generation Uncoupled: America's New Gender Divide and the Crisis of Human Connection
Buy NowSurvey Reports
Daniel A. Cox
July 23, 2026
A Digital Divide in American Adolescence: Gender, Class, and the New Teenage Experience
If teenage years once represented a time of rebellion, teenagers’ lives today are marked less by pushing boundaries and more by building their own. Many teenage experiences are less common than they once were—dating, working a part-time job, and experimenting with drugs and alcohol are less common experiences. The 2026 American Teenagers Survey from the Continue Reading →
Daniel A. Cox, Jae Grace, Avery Shields
April 27, 2026
Strangers Next Door: The Decline of Neighborhood Socializing and the Class Divide in Belonging
Acknowledgment The American Enterprise Institute’s Survey Center on American Life is grateful to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for its generous support of this research. As Americans spend more of their time online, the neighborhood—once a primary physical location for real-world socialization—is playing less of a central role than ever before. Since Continue Reading →
In the News
August 13, 2026
America’s Loneliness Trap
August 6, 2026









